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I've been looking high and low for the 'perfect' archer's hat for many years now. I've bought many hats over the years and some are very good, others are a bit ridiculous, sad to say.
![Embarrassed :oops:](./images/smilies/icon/redface.gif)
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon/smile.gif)
What constitutes the perfect archer's hat, you might say? Well, for a start it can't interfere with your draw. These nothing that will put you off your performance like your string making contact with your hat prior to release. It shoots your concentration to hell. So, if the perfect archer's hat has a brim, it's got to be small.
Does the perfect archer's hat need a brim? This has to be an unqualified 'yes', as most of us are fair skinned in a land designed for darker skin. Skin cancer is rampant in this country. Yes, I'd say a brim is mandatory, particularly in the warmer months. A brim is also handy when its raining in the cooler months, it keeps the rain off your glasses
I have a few cut down hats. I've cut the brims down on a number of felt hats and even a few baseball caps. Even with very small brims, you can sometimes make contact with the string, particularly if you happen to be using a longbow.
There's a couple of hats that I've used for years that are close to being perfect. They're 'Huntec' bush hats. These hats are made of canvas and are covered in a camo material. They have soft floppy brims, so even if you do make contact with your bow string, it's pretty much a non event, your concentration isn't interrupted much at all. The only trouble with these hats, is that they're camouflaged. Now, I'm not one of these people who frown upon camo, but there are times and places where it's not the best choice, like on a 3D course. You don't want to end up getting shot because other shooters didn't see you.
I've been looking for a hat that worked as well as my 'Huntec' hats, but something that wasn't camouflaged. I wanted something in a natural earthy tone that would blend into most surroundings, but also a hat that you could wear anywhere without a second thought.
I cut down a couple of my wide brimmed Akubra hats, in an attempt to find the perfect archer's hat. They worked out quite well, so well in fact that I've worn them to many club meeting and competitions, as well as out hunting. Every now and then, I'd make contact with the string though, enough to make me think twice about wearing them to an important comp or hunt. I still thought I was on the 'right' track though with this concept though.
Then I started thinking about one of those leather wide brimmed hats you often see people wearing. I thought leather would make a great traditional archer's hat. Traditional archer's have lots of stuff made of leather. I went out a bought myself one. The first thing that struck me was the heavy springy brim the hat had. These hats have a coiled steel spring sewn in around the outside of the brim, so they hold their shape properly. This heavy 'spring' had to go, there was no way this hat would make an archer's hat with the string banging against the metal edged brim all the time. I cut the steel enclosed brim off, leaving as much brim as possible. Unfortunately the entire brim of the hat just flopped down over my eyes without any support.
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon/smile.gif)
I started to think of ways of supporting the brim. I wanted the brim supported and up and out of the way, yet I still wanted it to be soft and forgiving, like my canvas hats. I finally hit upon the idea of inserting some heavy 3mm round leather thonging around the edge and sewing the edge of the brim around it. Together, the sewn edge with the heavy thonging, should hold the brim up, yet remain flexible enough.
I tried using the wife's sewing machine, but after nearly burning it out and breaking a needle, I took the hat to my local cobbler to do the sewing. He charged me $5. I'm quite happy with the end result. The brim, although a bit ragged and rugged looking, works well. On the very odd occasion when I do make contact with the string, the brim just moves out of the way. I bearly even notice it.
I like it, it has character.
![Cool 8)](./images/smilies/icon_cool.gif)
Mick